Former President Donald Trump said this week that several other potential Republican contenders for the 2024 nomination are “begging” to be his running mate if he decides to run again.
“They’re all begging me,” he reportedly said to one adviser, according to Politico. “They all come here [to Mar-a-Lago].”
Though Trump has not formally announced a 2024 campaign, it is widely expected that he will some time after the 2022 midterm elections. As a result, talk of who he might choose as his vice president is already heating up.
Several advisers and associates close to Trump told Politico he will choose his running mate based on two factors: unconditional loyalty, and support for his claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Democrats.
“They’ll have to denounce what happened in 2020,” former Trump campaign staffer Michael Caputo explained. “If they don’t, they’re disqualified.”
A 2024 campaign would not be like the 2016 campaign, when Trump chose former Vice President Mike Pence to secure the Midwestern geographic region and the evangelical vote, Trump pollster John McLaughlin said.
“He is the party, basically. It’s so united behind him,” he said. “So his choice, if he runs, will come down to what he wants. It would be a much more personal decision this time.”
In June, Trump said he would “certainly consider” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another GOP front-runner for the 2024 race. Now, however, Trump sees DeSantis “as a competitor,” a source told Politico.
“He’s not going to have someone with better poll numbers,” the source added.
Other names that have been tossed around among the Trump camp are Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom have met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago recently.
“Scott was appropriately deferential without being gross, like some people are,” one Republican who was in the room with the men said. “What he said was thoughtful, and it was appreciated by the president. There was definitely chemistry there.”
